The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Arcanum Review

Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magic Obscura is a game that was developed (created) by Troika L.L.C., and was published (printed and distributed) by Sierra late in the summer of 2001. The creators of this game made several other computer games you may have heard of, including Fallout.

The game is set in a world known as Arcanum, and the setting is one that incorporates “steam-works” style technology with magic in a Victorian setting. Readers are probably familiar with a recent profusion of p-n-p roleplaying material, such as Steam-tech and Steam-“punk” published by GURPS, among others (for instance Witchfire/d20). These p-n-p settings incorporate gunpowder, mechanics and steampower, and almost certainly owe their existence to this game; Arcanum was being actively advertised throughout gaming magazines (both p-n-p and electronic) for at least the last year and half (since spring/summer 2000), since an August 2000 release was originally planned.

Imitation is the ultimate compliment, and the writing and core design is worthy of all compliments it receives. The game is immensely deep, with a multitude of side-quests. One exceedingly appealing aspect of the design was the ability to use multiple solutions to solve problems. This team first demonstrated this principle in Fallout. It was again used in Fallout 2, and Ion Storm has employed this in their (deserving) blockbuster Deus Ex. For example, killing a (politically) powerful main character who provides key clues for the story does not halt the story. It merely forces you to pursue alternative means. Refreshing…

Irritatingly, the game is fairly linear. This is especially disappointing since this same team made the very non-linear Fallout. In terms of core design, this was the only decision that really disappointed me.

So these are all good things, sadly, Fallout remains my favorite computer game ever. Why?

It’s the Gameplay!

Time and again, the absolute dominance of a gameplay has been demonstrated as the overriding factor in the success and failure of a game.

Fallout and Baldur’s Gate both had very enjoyable, and very different, kinds of gameplay. Baldur’s Gate was a real-time pause-able, “tactical squad” gameplay. Fallout was turn-based. Both did one thing, and all efforts were focused on the particular premise of each, resulting in finely tuned and fun gameplay.

Arcanum’s combat engine appears to be a hybrid between Diablo’s combat gameplay and Fallout’s. The pitiful result is a confused engine that attempts to do both and succeeds at neither. Compared to Diablo, Arcanum’s realtime combat is on Speed, moving so quickly that the fight is usually over before you realize it. Arcanum’s real-time lacks the pacing that Diablo had, which cripples tactical control as well as dampening the satisfaction of victory (assuming you didn’t die because it happened so quickly).

The turn-based mode suffers as well, as it quickly becomes clear that turn-based is really a derivation of the real time engine. This affects the “texture” of this gameplay mode, managing the incredible feat of feeling too rushed while in turn based mode. Futhermore, turn based mode only “turns on” when a specific condition is met, not when conditions of hostility exist. It appears to be when an opponent stops moving so that it can melee, or cast a spell (not exactly sure, though). Thus you will usually want to trigger turn-based mode yourself, by hitting the attack button (though there are situations where you will not want to).

Character Building

Player character building and development features a grave problem: the game is coldly and ruthlessly biased in favor of mages, such that you would be a fool to play anything else.

Consider:

By 15th level my mage had taken 10 spells from three schools, which had cost me 10 character points of the 22 I had earned so far. Those spells were: Strength of Earth, Stone Throw; Agility of Fire, Wall of Fire, Fireflash; and Shield of Protection, Jolt, Wall of force, Bolt of lightning, Distintegrate. There are three important spells, and two less important spells. The primary spells are Stone throw, Fireflash, and Disintegrate. The secondary spells are Shield of Protection and Agility of Fire. The other spells are nice but pretty much irrelevant, because with the two secondary spells sustained, the three primary spells could be used to annihilate virtually anything. Here is an example of how extreme the bias toward magic is. When you first arrive at Tarant (the central city of Arcanum) there are slums you see filled with hoods, toughs and crooks of all types. These aren’t supposed to be pushovers: these people are real bad news.

Scenario 1:

With my 25th level tech, I walk into a bar and pick a fight. The result: I and my party of three get killed, taking two of them with us.

Scenario 2:

With my 15th level mage, I walk into this same bar, ALONE, and pick a fight. The result: I annihilate EVERYTHING moving in that same bar, except for the bartender.

That isn’t bad balancing, folks. That’s nothing short of CATASTROPHIC balancing.

“I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him.” (The Revelation of John)

And it really is that bad. Every time I turned on my Shield of Protection I had to chuckle (merely a prelude to the maniacal laughter that followed). I mean, its like seeing a Jedi turn on his light-saber. It turns on, and people die. The sight of it should cause mobs to flee, screaming hysterically. If you are interested in playing some kind of Lord of Darkness type, this is your number right here. Keep your eye on your fatigue and wall-to-wall blue potions and there isn’t anything you can’t slaughter.

Lets examine what causes the imbalance between mages and techs.

For a mage, you only need one attribute really: Willpower (though a higher Con-for a bigger magic battery and high Dex-for more actions per turn is always helpful). So you have to spend points on Willpower, and, of course Spells.

For tech you always need Intelligence, in order to acquire schematics. You also need skills to attack with the nifty weapons you are using schematics to make, those being Throwing, Melee, or Firearms. Advancement of those skills depends on the attributes Perception and Dexterity. Your need for strength will vary with weapon of choice. So you have to spend points on at least two Attributes (usually four actually), Schematics, and Skills.

Furthermore, sometimes you miss. And a mage? Nope, they never miss. And it gets better. Guns do pretty crappy damage. Even “good” guns.

Oh right, and you also need money to buy components to assemble these things. Mages…they need potions right? Well, no, not really. Just hit that little button in the right upper corner (wait an hour), and off you go. Net loss: 3 seconds of your playtime. Potions are strictly for combat use (i.e., you just slaughtered a small army, but their third cousins are coming round, and you haven’t had a chance to rest yet).

The final result: for tech, you pay MORE total resources (CPs – character points) for an INFERIOR result. Even a melee guy with a little tech thrown in (melee specialized Sickly ½ Ogre with a little smithy skill, for example), will take your firearms tech down.

By 30th level Sogg Mead Mug (an NPC you can pick up early) was a terror on the face of Arcanum, meanwhile, my 37th level main tech character…well, he’s OK I guess. He’s nothing special, that’s for sure.

And I pity the gun tech that tries to do something besides fight. He needs Strength to carry guns, Dex to get actions, Perception to get skill, Intelligence to get schematics, points to put into schematics (so he will have something besides a crappy pistol), points to put into Firearms (so he can actually hit something), and the money to buy components. The last thing he can afford is to go around trying to be a sneaky (or whatever else) type.

And if you think I’m kidding about needing Strength, some guns can’t even be equipped if you aren’t strong enough. And don’t be surprised when the recoil from your pistol knocks you flat unconscious. No, that’s not a joke. Firing a gun will knock you unconscious if your Strength isn’t high enough. I don’t that that particular quirk needs further commentary.

Further aggravating this disparity is the nature of the Tech and Magic systems. Tech is “deeper” in the investment it requires to max out a particular specialization. Maxing out a spell group requires an 18 Willpower, maxing out a tech tree requires a 19 Intelligence (a one-time-only cost of one point, admittedly a small difference). Worse, each tech tree has seven schematics, each spell tree has five spells. The magic trees are “shallower”, allowing one to acquire the highest degree of power for each option quite quickly. And remember, the ability to use magic is not limited by the availability of components. The ability to use tech requires components be available, and the money to buy them.

My “Crusher of Arcanum” mage? Well, I take an Only Child elf, which means I have a massive starting Willpower. So a few more points are needed to max that attribute out, 10 points into spells, and the rest is gravy. My mage was halfway to True Power at level 1. It just makes me laugh. I actually made my mage a melee and dodge master too, just for fun. Its not like I needed character points for anything once I hit 15th level. Also slammed a bunch into my abysmal Charisma while I was at it, so I could have an army of followers to cringe, bow, scrape and simper before His Highness, the Most Worshipful Crusher of Arcanum.

“Conan! What is best in life?!”

“To crouash youh enemies,

To see dem driven befoah you,

And to heuh da lamentationz of da women.”

Oh wait. They’re all dead too.

And believe it or not, I’m still not done. The final cherry on this sundae of stupendously uneven suckyness, is the awarding of XP. Because of the mage’s ability to annihilate small armies at will, he gains the lion’s share of the XP, which means even faster leveling. Yeah, that’s right, for the one “class” that doesn’t need it.

Sheesh.

I have actually always despised the idea of game balance. The reason is a simple one. There is no game balance in the real world.

Who cares if nukes are unbalanced? We still won WWII.

Who cares if “stealth” is unbalanced. U.S. aircraft still own.

There isn’t some omnipotent power who is saying, “Now, now, you scientists and engineers. That wouldn’t be balanced. Can’t let you do that.”

Change drives the world. That which works is retained and expanded. That which doesn’t fades to obscurity. So I pity the techs of the world of Arcanum. My spells may not work on them, but my skill mastery (melee, dodge, and backstab) and small army will break them like a twig.

My favorite trick: transport behind them, backstab repeatedly with my monofilament whip, I mean, blade, then teleport away. Ever fought a phase spider before? Meet Carlton, elven Phase-Spider of Disintegration, Backstabbing, Fireballs and other assorted crushing.

Adapt or die, fools. You have been warned.

End of Rant

This reality is frustrating. The schematics are really cool and it’s really fun to build all these neat items. Being forced to abandon this for survival was not cool. The only tech I can see working is a smithy/clockwork fighter-thief. Whatever.

Performance

Another serious problem in certain situations is performance (slowdowns). Those situations being towns/cities, lighting effects, and transparency/layered effects. The problems in towns and cities appear to relate to the number of NPCs onscreen. The more murderous types might minimize this problem by killing everything that moves. I wouldn’t recommend it, because of consequences you can discover on your own.

The problems with lighting effects are another big one, causing me to avoid using a light source of any kind. Transparency issues were especially irritating with the Shield of Force.

The game was a little bit buggy, but most weren’t serious. The patch fixes many of the issues that made it into the game. The patch also allows other modes (full-screen), but I don’t recommend that unless you have a brawny PC.

Graphics and Art

This is a beautiful game. A lot of people knock it for a few reasons. One, its not 3D, and two, it’s colors aren’t as vibrant as BG. And the animators do a good job of making characters look like fools, depending on the gear worn. Either as some nerd with pants pulled up to the armpits, or an idiot in plate mail with an iron schnozz a foot long. The tech armor is pretty cool-looking though.

And when you when you stroll through Tarant, Caladon, and other towns (something to look at as the frames crawl slowly by) you will really like the detail. And look at the lanterns, the (usable!) train stations, and buildings. It’s really quite beautiful.

Conclusion

Despite serious flaws in the gameplay design and character creation, Arcanum is a fun game and is highly recommended. This is a testament to the strength of its basic design, story and dialogue writing, more than anything else.

Just don’t play a tech.

Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magic Obscura
Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magic Obscura Playtest Review by Mike McKenzie on 12/01/02 Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 5 (Excellent!) Despite serious flaws in the gameplay design and character creation, Arcanum is a fun game and is highly recommended. This is a testament to the strength of its basic design, story and dialogue writing, more than anything else. Just don’t play a tech. Product: Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magic Obscura Author: Troika L.L.C. Category: Computer RPG Company/Publisher: Sierra/Vivendi Line: Cost: varies Page count: Year published: August \'01 ISBN: SKU: Comp copy?: no Playtest Review by Mike McKenzie on 12/01/02 Genre tags: Fantasy Old West	Arcanum Review Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magic Obscura is a game that was developed (created) by Troika L.L.C., and was published (printed and distributed) by Sierra late in the summer of 2001. The creators of this game made several other computer games you may have heard of, including Fallout. The game is set in a world known as Arcanum, and the setting is one that incorporates “steam-works” style technology with magic in a Victorian setting. Readers are probably familiar with a recent profusion of p-n-p roleplaying material, such as Steam-tech and Steam-“punk” published by GURPS, among others (for instance Witchfire/d20). These p-n-p settings incorporate gunpowder, mechanics and steampower, and almost certainly owe their existence to this game; Arcanum was being actively advertised throughout gaming magazines (both p-n-p and electronic) for at least the last year and half (since spring/summer 2000), since an August 2000 release was originally planned. Imitation is the ultimate compliment, and the writing and core design is worthy of all compliments it receives. The game is immensely deep, with a multitude of side-quests. One exceedingly appealing aspect of the design was the ability to use multiple solutions to solve problems. This team first demonstrated this principle in Fallout. It was again used in Fallout 2, and Ion Storm has employed this in their (deserving) blockbuster Deus Ex. For example, killing a (politically) powerful main character who provides key clues for the story does not halt the story. It merely forces you to pursue alternative means. Refreshing… Irritatingly, the game is fairly linear. This is especially disappointing since this same team made the very non-linear Fallout. In terms of core design, this was the only decision that really disappointed me. So these are all good things, sadly, Fallout remains my favorite computer game ever. Why? It’s the Gameplay! Time and again, the absolute dominance of a gameplay has been demonstrated as the overriding factor in the success and failure of a game. Fallout and Baldur’s Gate both had very enjoyable, and very different, kinds of gameplay. Baldur’s Gate was a real-time pause-able, “tactical squad” gameplay. Fallout was turn-based. Both did one thing, and all efforts were focused on the particular premise of each, resulting in finely tuned and fun gameplay. Arcanum’s combat engine appears to be a hybrid between Diablo’s combat gameplay and Fallout’s. The pitiful result is a confused engine that attempts to do both and succeeds at neither. Compared to Diablo, Arcanum’s realtime combat is on Speed, moving so quickly that the fight is usually over before you realize it. Arcanum’s real-time lacks the pacing that Diablo had, which cripples tactical control as well as dampening the satisfaction of victory (assuming you didn’t die because it happened so quickly). The turn-based mode suffers as well, as it quickly becomes clear that turn-based is really a derivation of the real time engine. This affects the “texture” of this gameplay mode, managing the incredible feat of feeling too rushed while in turn based mode. Futhermore, turn based mode only “turns on” when a specific condition is met, not when conditions of hostility exist. It appears to be when an opponent stops moving so that it can melee, or cast a spell (not exactly sure, though). Thus you will usually want to trigger turn-based mode yourself, by hitting the attack button (though there are situations where you will not want to). Character Building Player character building and development features a grave problem: the game is coldly and ruthlessly biased in favor of mages, such that you would be a fool to play anything else. Consider: By 15th level my mage had taken 10 spells from three schools, which had cost me 10 character points of the 22 I had earned so far. Those spells were: Strength of Earth, Stone Throw; Agility of Fire, Wall of Fire, Fireflash; and Shield of Protection, Jolt, Wall of force, Bolt of lightning, Distintegrate. There are three important spells, and two less important spells. The primary spells are Stone throw, Fireflash, and Disintegrate. The secondary spells are Shield of Protection and Agility of Fire. The other spells are nice but pretty much irrelevant, because with the two secondary spells sustained, the three primary spells could be used to annihilate virtually anything. Here is an example of how extreme the bias toward magic is. When you first arrive at Tarant (the central city of Arcanum) there are slums you see filled with hoods, toughs and crooks of all types. These aren’t supposed to be pushovers: these people are real bad news. Scenario 1: With my 25th level tech, I walk into a bar and pick a fight. The result: I and my party of three get killed, taking two of them with us. Scenario 2: With my 15th level mage, I walk into this same bar, ALONE, and pick a fight. The result: I annihilate EVERYTHING moving in that same bar, except for the bartender. That isn’t bad balancing, folks. That’s nothing short of CATASTROPHIC balancing. “I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him.” (The Revelation of John) And it really is that bad. Every time I turned on my Shield of Protection I had to chuckle (merely a prelude to the maniacal laughter that followed). I mean, its like seeing a Jedi turn on his light-saber. It turns on, and people die. The sight of it should cause mobs to flee, screaming hysterically. If you are interested in playing some kind of Lord of Darkness type, this is your number right here. Keep your eye on your fatigue and wall-to-wall blue potions and there isn’t anything you can’t slaughter. Lets examine what causes the imbalance between mages and techs. For a mage, you only need one attribute really: Willpower (though a higher Con-for a bigger magic battery and high Dex-for more actions per turn is always helpful). So you have to spend points on Willpower, and, of course Spells. For tech you always need Intelligence, in order to acquire schematics. You also need skills to attack with the nifty weapons you are using schematics to make, those being Throwing, Melee, or Firearms. Advancement of those skills depends on the attributes Perception and Dexterity. Your need for strength will vary with weapon of choice. So you have to spend points on at least two Attributes (usually four actually), Schematics, and Skills. Furthermore, sometimes you miss. And a mage? Nope, they never miss. And it gets better. Guns do pretty crappy damage. Even “good” guns. Oh right, and you also need money to buy components to assemble these things. Mages…they need potions right? Well, no, not really. Just hit that little button in the right upper corner (wait an hour), and off you go. Net loss: 3 seconds of your playtime. Potions are strictly for combat use (i.e., you just slaughtered a small army, but their third cousins are coming round, and you haven’t had a chance to rest yet). The final result: for tech, you pay MORE total resources (CPs – character points) for an INFERIOR result. Even a melee guy with a little tech thrown in (melee specialized Sickly ½ Ogre with a little smithy skill, for example), will take your firearms tech down. By 30th level Sogg Mead Mug (an NPC you can pick up early) was a terror on the face of Arcanum, meanwhile, my 37th level main tech character…well, he’s OK I guess. He’s nothing special, that’s for sure. And I pity the gun tech that tries to do something besides fight. He needs Strength to carry guns, Dex to get actions, Perception to get skill, Intelligence to get schematics, points to put into schematics (so he will have something besides a crappy pistol), points to put into Firearms (so he can actually hit something), and the money to buy components. The last thing he can afford is to go around trying to be a sneaky (or whatever else) type. And if you think I’m kidding about needing Strength, some guns can’t even be equipped if you aren’t strong enough. And don’t be surprised when the recoil from your pistol knocks you flat unconscious. No, that’s not a joke. Firing a gun will knock you unconscious if your Strength isn’t high enough. I don’t that that particular quirk needs further commentary. Further aggravating this disparity is the nature of the Tech and Magic systems. Tech is “deeper” in the investment it requires to max out a particular specialization. Maxing out a spell group requires an 18 Willpower, maxing out a tech tree requires a 19 Intelligence (a one-time-only cost of one point, admittedly a small difference). Worse, each tech tree has seven schematics, each spell tree has five spells. The magic trees are “shallower”, allowing one to acquire the highest degree of power for each option quite quickly. And remember, the ability to use magic is not limited by the availability of components. The ability to use tech requires components be available, and the money to buy them. My “Crusher of Arcanum” mage? Well, I take an Only Child elf, which means I have a massive starting Willpower. So a few more points are needed to max that attribute out, 10 points into spells, and the rest is gravy. My mage was halfway to True Power at level 1. It just makes me laugh. I actually made my mage a melee and dodge master too, just for fun. Its not like I needed character points for anything once I hit 15th level. Also slammed a bunch into my abysmal Charisma while I was at it, so I could have an army of followers to cringe, bow, scrape and simper before His Highness, the Most Worshipful Crusher of Arcanum. “Conan! What is best in life?!” “To crouash youh enemies, To see dem driven befoah you, And to heuh da lamentationz of da women.” Oh wait. They’re all dead too. And believe it or not, I’m still not done. The final cherry on this sundae of stupendously uneven suckyness, is the awarding of XP. Because of the mage’s ability to annihilate small armies at will, he gains the lion’s share of the XP, which means even faster leveling. Yeah, that’s right, for the one “class” that doesn’t need it. Sheesh. I have actually always despised the idea of game balance. The reason is a simple one. There is no game balance in the real world. Who cares if nukes are unbalanced? We still won WWII. Who cares if “stealth” is unbalanced. U.S. aircraft still own. There isn’t some omnipotent power who is saying, “Now, now, you scientists and engineers. That wouldn’t be balanced. Can’t let you do that.” Change drives the world. That which works is retained and expanded. That which doesn’t fades to obscurity. So I pity the techs of the world of Arcanum. My spells may not work on them, but my skill mastery (melee, dodge, and backstab) and small army will break them like a twig. My favorite trick: transport behind them, backstab repeatedly with my monofilament whip, I mean, blade, then teleport away. Ever fought a phase spider before? Meet Carlton, elven Phase-Spider of Disintegration, Backstabbing, Fireballs and other assorted crushing. Adapt or die, fools. You have been warned. End of Rant This reality is frustrating. The schematics are really cool and it’s really fun to build all these neat items. Being forced to abandon this for survival was not cool. The only tech I can see working is a smithy/clockwork fighter-thief. Whatever. Performance Another serious problem in certain situations is performance (slowdowns). Those situations being towns/cities, lighting effects, and transparency/layered effects. The problems in towns and cities appear to relate to the number of NPCs onscreen. The more murderous types might minimize this problem by killing everything that moves. I wouldn’t recommend it, because of consequences you can discover on your own. The problems with lighting effects are another big one, causing me to avoid using a light source of any kind. Transparency issues were especially irritating with the Shield of Force. The game was a little bit buggy, but most weren’t serious. The patch fixes many of the issues that made it into the game. The patch also allows other modes (full-screen), but I don’t recommend that unless you have a brawny PC. Graphics and Art This is a beautiful game. A lot of people knock it for a few reasons. One, its not 3D, and two, it’s colors aren’t as vibrant as BG. And the animators do a good job of making characters look like fools, depending on the gear worn. Either as some nerd with pants pulled up to the armpits, or an idiot in plate mail with an iron schnozz a foot long. The tech armor is pretty cool-looking though. And when you when you stroll through Tarant, Caladon, and other towns (something to look at as the frames crawl slowly by) you will really like the detail. And look at the lanterns, the (usable!) train stations, and buildings. It’s really quite beautiful. Conclusion Despite serious flaws in the gameplay design and character creation, Arcanum is a fun game and is highly recommended. This is a testament to the strength of its basic design, story and dialogue writing, more than anything else. Just don’t play a tech.